It Pays to Be Social

The Industry That Has Erupted Within the Modeling Industry

By
Tracey Lomrantz Lester

Dec 16, 2015

Glen Allsop for Swarovski

The days when a supermodel wouldn’t get out of bed for less than $10,000 seem quaint by comparison to today’s professionally gorgeous: There’s no need to even shed their PJs when hitting “share” on an Instagram post can easily net a cool six figures—not to mention catapult a girl from a face to a name—according to a slew of industry experts.

While the social media value of models has been on the rise for a few years, the last twelve months have seen a drastic shift in the way that value is measured, monetized, and negotiated, and in the way once-anonymous catwalkers have the ability to create and control a personal brand that extends far beyond just looking good in clothes. "For sure, casting directors will ask for models with over 'X' amount of followers, and then will ask for the specs of the talent after that," Jennifer Powell, who works on Next Models' women's board and manages social media talent for the agency, says. "Especially for campaigns and bigger projects."

It’s also become fairly standard for social media usage to exist as its own contract term, moving beyond the previously all-encompassing "online" usage term. According to Frank Spadafora, a former casting director and the founder and CEO of D’Marie Archive, an analytics group that has recently introduced an app and platform to guide agencies through putting a valuation on the social power of a model or influencer, the three most highly ranked supers on social—Kendall Jenner, Cara Delevigne, and Gigi Hadid, in descending order—“are currently valued between $125,000 and $300,000 for a single post across their portfolio. If you want to reach a model's audience, you're going to have to pay a hefty additional fee for that."

Glen Allsop for Swarovski

The next tier—very familiar faces like Karlie Kloss, Behati Prinsloo, and Miranda Kerr—can command between $25,000 to $50,000 for a single post across Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, according to Spadafora. His team has created an algorithm that uses 56 metrics—considering factors from post frequency to engagement rate to clickthrough—to help brands determine what a post from a model is worth. "We are still in the process of educating our clients to increase their social media rate, but some of our models listed on D'Marie actually have the potential to earn more per post than their normal day rate," Katia Sherman, president & co-founder of Major models, says. "The social queens are just another breed of models."

They're a breed who have figured out not just how to capitalize beyond a single campaign, but how to create long-term value by building an interactive digital portfolio, giving fans a glimpse into what they eat, where they shop, and perhaps most importantly, how many fellow models comprise their squad in a socially-dominated landscape. In turn, their fans become more engaged, their feed becomes more valuable, and brands see higher returns on their social investments.

"The most valuable reason for a model to be on social media is definitely a combination of monetizing her image and using the platform to develop and build a digital brand for themselves," Micki Schneider, senior booker in the women's division at Wilhelmina, says. "The more followers a model has, the more they can be appealing to certain clients. And we encourage the girls and are very mindful, as they create their own brands and become more mainstream, to be as authentic as possible."

Stephane Feugere

It all results in a symbiotic relationship for both brand and model: Broader exposure to a loyal audience (translation: higher conversion and sales) for the former, and an additional revenue stream and opportunity to champion things they're truly passionate about for the latter. Most agents weren't willing to get specific with what their clients can earn for a brand, but it's clear the potential is just now being tapped: "We [Next Models] represent Lucky Blue Smith, who is the male model with the largest social media value," Powell says. "It's not only valuable because of his massive Instagram numbers but because of the engagement of his audience. Most contracts want to use his social media as an advertising channel, however he's very particular with what he posts and how he connects with his audience."

Most social experts agree that for a model or influencer's paid post to truly deliver, there must be a level of authentic alignment between talent and brand. Karen Robinovitz, co-founder and chief creative officer of Digital Brand Architects, an agency that represents some of the most successful bloggers on the planet, provided a bit of context around an influencer's ability to ring a brand's registers: "It's key that the talent's assets and offerings match the brand objectives," she said. "We worked on a program last holiday where a single influencer drove $1 million in sales for a retailer, which is what happens when the right people come together."

If that's the result of a top blogger's social influence, imagine what Kendall Jenner—with a collective followership hovering around 65 million—is capable of. It's an increasingly important component of building a successful modeling career, and its benefits extend well beyond validating oneself with likes. According to Spadafora, "As far as commercializing a career, a girl won't get very far in 2016 if she's not socially savvy. Can I say that you can be a big star without a social media presence? I'm not encouraging it."

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